Not to Beat a Dead Kryptonian, But...

[dave]

In preparing to talk about the New Testament for my World Religions class today, I happened upon the idea of talking about whether or not Superman is a Christ Figure. (Incidentally, I don't think he is, but you'll have to read Graven Images in the Fall to find out why!) So, I hopped on YouTube to snag the genuinely compelling Superman Returns trailer featuring some of Marlon Brando's "lost" dialogue:

"Even though you've been raised as a human being, you are not one of them.
They could be a great people Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way.
For this reason above all, their capacity for good;
I have sent them you...my only son."

Watching this, then watching the complete trailer, then watching extended footage left me both inspired and puzzled: What the hell happened??

Now, it's hard to call a movie that grossed over $200 mil. domestic a bomb -- but, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com, it cost $270 mil. And I suspect that's before marketing and such, which probably ran a little short of merchandising. All in all, it wasn't a financial hit, sure, but it got a "76% Fresh" rating at RottenTomatoes.com and reasonable reviews. (Especially for a superhero movie! Well...a superhero movie that isn't The Dark Knight.)

I can't shake, though, the impression that Hollywood considers this flick a failure. Without defending it, I want to ask, sincerely, what's wrong with it? Is a "super-kid" enough to kill a movie all by himself? Was its tenuous connection to the Donner continuity too weird? Is the fact that Superman forgot to throw even one punch a crippling oversight? In short, what was Superman Returns' kryptonite, ultimately?

The movie forgot to be fun.

[dave]

The movie forgot to be fun.

That's it, just "fun?"

I don't know -- I actually found Kevin "Lex Luthor" Spacey rather fun! Walked a good line between nefarious and Gene Hackman.

Ok, then, what woulda made it more fun?